When We Fall
by GreenTerror
Summary: Previously titled Closer to the Edge: NEST calls in its best from the international divisions to fight Decepticon rebellion. New Autobots arrive, and a bond that can never be broken is formed. Eventual IronhidexOC
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Welcome to the first chapter! I'd really appreciate reviews and thoughts to help me on my little quest :] A glassary of any terms that you may not know the meaning of can be found at the bottom of the page. Enjoy!  


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**-XxX-**

It wasn't hard to tell that things had changed at the base. The atmosphere was tight, planes were constantly being checked, then checked again, and the officers were all on edge, all except for Grace. She stood in the open hangar with a brand new Eurofighter, looking it over with her hands idly resting on her hips. Her olive-drab green overalls bore rank patches, and the stripes of a Squadron Leader upon her shoulders. She walked along the fuselage, still tingling from the trill the machine had given her not long ago.

"How's it handling McKenna?" Jimmy, her Wing Commander popped his head around the giant hangar door.

She smiled at his mildly informal comment and turned to face the tall copper haired man. "Well, she needs breaking in a little, other than that it's a fine machine." A few twists of light brown hair danced about her face as a sudden small gust of wind swept through the building. She wrangled them between her fingers, pulling the now restrained hair up into a loose bun.

His eyes whisked over the plane as he walked towards her. "Tell me Jim, why do we need another one? We barely get any attacks as it is…"

"Dunno, you know what it's like here. Crazy." His eyes remained fixed upon the plane, though widened at the final comment. It was wonderful that they could talk in a slightly colloquial manner together, especially since he was her superior. They had both enrolled into the RAF the same year, and throughout training and promotions they were never far apart, then five years ago both pilots were enrolled into NEST International pilot division, England.

"You're not wrong..." Grace sighed under her breath. It _was_ a crazy place. Reports came in from all over the world about the missions that were about to take place, what was happening at headquarters, whether they needed immediate backup in any way…which was usually never. The only time their Squadron had been scrambled was when something went down in the south of England near London. At this rate the base would be decommissioned. Grace's fingers traced over the rivets in the planes body, caressing the tepid carbon fiber body. ".....crazy..."

.....

Major Lennox rose from his bed wearily, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. His daughter had once again foiled his plans of a lie in on his day off. He could hear her squeals of delight as his wife played with her downstairs. He grunted, but smiled. He may have never got to experience this after that episode at Soccent. Walking to the bathroom, he was halted by Sarah who came trotting upstairs.

"Will I just got a call-" she was cut off by her dreary eyed husband.

"Bathroom first…" He briefly grasped her hand, then waddled off to the bathroom, knowing today's rest had already been replaced by his work duties.

As he finally walked down the stairs, washed and dressed, he picked up the phone. No sooner had he done so than he heard an all too familiar horn sound outside. He craned his neck to look out of the front window. It was a good job that they lived a few miles from any other houses, the rate of speed that truck hurtled in and out of their drive, anyone would think the world was ending.

Will's shoulders slumped at the sight of the black truck. "Lemme guess…General Morshower called me in?" His face was blank and unimpressed as he looked at his wife. He rolled his eyes as she confirmed his guess with a nod of her head. "Great, juuust great." He picked up his jacket and credentials. "I'll see you two beautifl ladies later."

He laid a kiss upon Sarah's lips and Annabelle's forehead. "You need anything?" He asked on his way to the front door, grabbing his wallet and keys. She nodded a no.

The large black Topkick stood rather silently on the drive. A few slights metallic clicks became audiable as Will came closer.

"You know Ironhide…I had plans" Will moaned absently as he climbed into the drivers side. Only when he was secure in the cab of the truck did he get a reply.

"My apologies Will. I was ordered to collect you. That and those twins are frying my circuits..." His usual deep booming voice spat out the last part of his sentence.

"Aahhh cheer up buddy. It might never happen." Will playfully patted the steering wheel.

"What might never happen?"

"Uh…figure of speech…forget about it." Ironhide grunted as he turned another corner and headed out onto the highway. "So, whadd'ya got for me this time?"

**-XxX-**

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Glossary

**Eurofighter**= Eurofighter Typhoon: Fighter/Bomber jet plane used by the RAF

**Squadron Leader**= Rank of RAF officer. Ranks directly above Flight Lieutenant and directly below Wing Commander.

**Fuselage**= The body of a plane


	2. Chapter 2

**Please review and tell me what you think!**

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-XxX-

The days duties were over, downtime was in order for Grace and the other pilots. Or so they thought. A knock on the door came from outside Grace's quarters. She hopped off her chair and opened the door. She was greeted by two Privates and Corporal Thompson. They exchanged a breif salute.

"Corporal" She greeted dark haired young man.

"Squadron Leader McKenna, I've been informed by General Dennit to deliver this message and summon all high ranking pilots in the division" Corporal Thompson stated. "You are to accompany Private Williams to the conference room."

Grace nodded in acknowledgement, but was somewhat puzzled. What did Dennit want to rant about this time..? She pushed the thought aside. They had to keep a 15 minute state of readyness on base, so she was already dressed appropriately for such an occasion. Dark green cargo pants were tucked into polished black work boots, and a loose, but fitted green work shirt bore the stripes of her rank on the shoulders. She stepped out of the room and followed Private Williams to the conferance room. She was greeted with the faces of her squadron as she stepped into the room. The air felt heavy. General Dennit sat at the top of a long polished oak rectangular table. Grace seated herself in one of two remaining chairs, and, as Private Williams saluted the General and left, Jimmy walked in accompanied by the other Private.

The Wing Commander set himself down in the last remaining chair next to Grace.

"Everyone is here..so lets begin" The somewhat portly General's voice boomed over the pilots. "We have been informed by NEST HQ that there has been a disturbing development in enemy activity. We were right to belive that these things would return, they're smarter, quicker, organised. I'm going to hand you over to the man who will explain why you have been summoned here this evening, USAF Master Sergeant Epps."

Grace's mind began to whirl, but she could tell she wasn't the only one. A couple of the pilots exchanged quick, suble confused glances. Something was out of whack.

"Aight, I'm not gonna sugar coat it people." The dark skinned man spoke up, instantly grabbing everyones attention. "We're in need of pilots such as yourselves to take down what seems to be the messenger among these asshole aliens. We've sighted him freely entering our airspace a number o' times, then dissapearing outta sight. He means business."

Grace noticed that the Sergeant was deadly serious. Well, why wouldn't he be? But...this all seemed very surreal to her. Years of nothing, now it seemed they were going to be thrown in at the deep end. But why did they need so many pilots...they couldn't have been short of them at HQ.

"The mission we are asking you to vouleteer for is deemed near suicide. But thats why we are asking you, you are the best of the best, and I have faith in every single one of you." He bounced a clenched fist on the table as he stressed his points to the faces seated before him.

'Ah, thats why.' She dryly thought. 'So most of us will be cannon fodder...'

"You will be shipped out to Diego Garcia tomorrow at 1700 hours. You will need to pack, rest, and prepare yourselves. You're part o' the game now."

...

A huge dark grey aircraft lined up with the runway. Landing gear down, leaving a puff of burnt rubber as it touched the ground once more. After docking at the unloading point, Will Lennox found himself once again listening to the gruff moaning of the large black truck.

"Rediculous..." It huffed

"Practical" Lennox corrected. The truck grunted. "How else would you get around Ironhide? Fly?" Will jeered in a playful manner.

"I just think they're unstable. That's all." Ironhide stated. A dull, yet audiable whirr came from the trucks body. Parts shifted and changed as Will watched his behemoth of a friend transform.

That sight will never get old...

"Sounds tuh me like you're a nervous flyer buddy" Will's brows were raised, and lips pouted in jest as he nodded his head.

"BAH..." The old mech waved aside Lennox's comments and strutted away into the hangar.

There was a sudden silence about the base. Will's brows knitted together as he glanced around. An F-16 took off in the distance, then an alighty boom shook the ground from inside the hangar.

'Oh crap...' Will ran towards the noise, silently praying Ironhide hadn't taken his words to seriously. Instead he was greeted by an odd sight. Ironhide stood casually just through the doorway, looking slightly amused. There in front of them was Ratchet, trying to blow the bejesus out of Sunstreaker, the newly arrived Autobot. He was Sideswipe's twin, they looked exactly alike, apart from Sunstreaker was a beautiful metallic gold. Time to step in.

"HEY HEY HEY!" Will ran up to Ratchet waving his arms in the air. Ratchet seemed to instantly sober from the irritance of the younger bot that was writhing in his grasp. "Whats goin on now!"

Sunstreaker halted his feeble attempts. Sideswipe peered from behind Ratchet.

"Ya know what, one of these days you two I'm gonna tie you up in a feild an' let Ironhide use you as target practice" Will sighed, crossing his arms.

"Thats not so bad...'Hides gettin old..his aim probably ain't as good as it used to be!" Sunstreaker jeered, much to his dismay. Ironhide began to trudge over to the gold mech, forcably shaking the ground in every step he took, arms swinging.

"Lets test that theory out shall we!" his rough voice echoed through the hangar.

"HEY! No more blowing anybody up, ok?" Will took a few steps towards the towering black mech. His optics were still trained upon Sunstreaker, who had now managed to wriggle free of ratchets grip and stood smugly beside his twin.

"My apologies Will...they make my anger get the better of me sometimes." Ratchet said kneeling and gesturing with his hand, then excused himself and walked out of the hangar, throwing a warning glance at the two brothers.

"Ya don't say..." Will muttered. "You two" He pointed a finger at the accused bots. "Get to Optimus. You've yet to be de-briefed." Without a word the sauntered off like teens with attitude problems. "I'll see ya around 'Hide, I better make sure these two don't cause any more trouble today." With a small wave, Will trotted after the two.

'Finally', Ironhide thought, 'peace'. It was not often that he got downtime to himself. Tomorrow Will would be introducing the pilots to him, maybe not the best choice for somebody who has never met an Autobot before. After all, he was one of the biggest old hard arses one could meet. Just as long as both twins kept out of the proceedings everything would go swimmingly. Nothing to anger him would mean nothing would startle the newbies half to death.

Yes, everything would go fine.

-XxX-


	3. Chapter 3

For hour after hour Grace had endured the constant whooshing of the C-17's engines. Her and the rest of the British pilots, and some troops, had taken off at an RAF base and were headed for Diego Garcia. The flight had already been long, and she had still got 3 more hours until they landed. She knew very little about the place they were headed, except that US and UK forces had deported all it's inhabitants in the 60's to make a huge military base.

She frowned and turned to the rest of her men. They were clad in smart new uniforms, bearing the NEST insignia. Secretly, she was dreading this. Not because she was scared, but because she was probably going to see a lot of these young men recieve horrific injuries...maybe even die. She scolded herself for thinking like this. It wouldn't help. That's what they were here for, it was their job. Plus they had these Autobot things she'd been told about on their side. At least they had a good chance.

She regarded Jimmy for a moment. The man was slumbering lightly, perched next to her on the bench that ran along the fuselage, his head back against the wall. Maybe she should take a leaf out of his book? Sleep was advised by Sergeant Epps, after all.

...

An abrupt bump awoke Grace. The almighty whirr from down-powering jet engines assaulted her ears. She grumbled, leaning forward and dropping her head into her hands.

"C'mon Little Miss Sunshine! We're here!" Jimmy wiggled her shoulder enthusiatically. Curse him for always being so excited.

"Piss off you tool!" She smiled and shoved him playfully, and he ran off toward the rear of the plane with a smirk on his face. The rear hatch opened, and they filed off down the ramp. The brightness of the outside made Grace's pupils dart into small dots. She shaded her blue eyes with a hand curved just above them until she got used to the light. The heat was pleasant, it made a welcome change from rainy England.

Her senses tingled. All around her, hangars, vast in size, stood tall and proud. The odd F-22 scattered close by, and Chinooks landed not too far away. Her attention was drawn to a man walking towards them, accompanied by Sergeant Epps. He began to address them.

"Welcome to Diego Garcia guys!" His tone was mock happiness. He looked amongst the people stood before him. "And girl..." He sheepishly grinned, and a few titters ruffled through the men. Grace sighed, rolling her eyes. She would only let him do that once.

"My name is Major Lennox, follow us, and uh we'll get you introduced to the 'Bots" He reffered to himself and the sergeant. They were led to a hangar. Inside Grace could not help but notice all the soundproofing, and there was a lot. This place was huge! She then was taken aback by the strangest sight.

A Peterbilt truck sat by a large metal platform. It was painted blue, red and orange with flames running down the side. She could not help but wonder why such a vehicle would be on a military base... admittedly, she thought, it looked very important. They followed Lennox inside the hangar and up a metal staircase to the platform. A big black pickup suddenly roared in, tucking itself next to the truck. She looked at it, impressed by the sheer size of the thing. Her dad had once bought an old full-size Chevy pickup, but this was much bigger, almost matching the truck in size.

Their ascent stopped, and Grace stood close to the railings, observing the trucks. As the others mingled around on the platform, she heard strange, deep noises. They were hard to describe, almost like the noise a light makes when there is a powercut. An electrical humming. It was coming from the direction of the trucks, but she dismissed it. There were a lot of loud aircraft on this base that could mess up your hearing sometimes.

She turned to face Lennox, who had somehow elevated himself higher than the rest of them, and Epps who stood next to him.

"Now" He began, "What you are about to see is incredibly top secret. There are serious consequences for anyone who has devious plans here, but it is vital you know who your allies are. Not all of you will accept this straight away. The two trucks situated before you are Autonomous Robotic Organisms, Autobots, as we refer to them. The Autobots mean you no harm, no matter how intimidating they may appear. We have been working with them, as you know, for the past 3 years."

He stepped off his little platform and took a step toward the edge of the railings near Grace. "Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introdue Optimus Prime and Ironhide" He gestured to each one after saying their names.

Lennox smiled as Grace and her comrades watched the scene literally unfold before them.

They were moving. Not just moving, shifting parts. Separating, re-attatching in different areas, forming legs, arms. A giant metal hand punched the ground. She was practically right next to the black GMC pickup, that was now finishing off it's transformation before her bewildered eyes. His own eyes scanned the room. They were bright blue lights, as were the other 'Bot's. He though, the Peterbilt, was taller. She couldn't take her eyes off the both of them. Slowly, the group shuffled back a couple of inches. Wether it was from fear or just to get a good look at the things Grace didn't know...probably both.

The Peterbilt, Optimus, had a hard expression, but shortly it subsided to a softer one. Ironhide's expression, however, remained a gruff stare. He was intimidating to say the least. Optimus began to speak, his voice was deep, low and controlled. He was definitely their leader. What with a name like Optimus Prime. Grace became uncomforatbly aware that the GMC was staring at all of them. His eyes stopped on her. She stared back, face blank, a little nervous yet intrigued all the same. She looked at his bulky figure, he was riddled with scars and atop his powerful looking arms resided two massive guns. Her eyebrows raised, a small grin peeked from the corner of her lips. She should have been listening to what Optimus was saying, thereagain, she didn't think any of them actually were.

Grace's eyes shot to her left and sought out Jimmy, who looked a little timid. She then looked back at Ironhide. He had taken a step back, allowing Optimus full attention of the humans. For a big metal robot he sure was quiet. Optimus mentioned something about superior artillery that allows them to need little or no assistance on the battlefield. He then gestured to Ironhide, who had powered up those big cannons of his. Grace could feel the heat from one, and began to wonder how on earth they worked.

"My chief weapons specialist, Ironhide, has seen millenia of battles. He is an experienced soldier, but above all, a reliable ally and friend." He said, turning slightly to face the 'Bot. Ironhide recoiled his cannons, and stood hands on what would be hips in relation to the human form.

Just as Optimus carried on, two small cars zipped around the corner of the giant hangar doors. One was bright green, the other orange. One tooted it's horn as the both of them swooshed in and out between the Autobots. Ironhide seemed instantly infuriated. His cannons twitched in preparation of transformation. Somehow, both cars smashed into each other, half transformed and landed in a pile in the corner of the hangar. Optimus pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head, Grace found the human-like gesture very humorous, and allowed a smile to creep onto her face. It was quickly washed away as Ironhide boomed. "Get OUT!" He shouted at the pile of metal. The two cars began making excuses and bickering with each other, then a few punches were thrown amongst them.

This was all very bizzare to Grace. Never had she encountered such an informal induction to a base. She liked it.

Ironhide's cannons transformed and whirred angrily. "GET. OUT!" He screamed at the two small 'Bots that had almost re-arranged themselves. They ran off like naughty school kids. Ironhide puffed and grumbled, his cannons still rotating, left, right, left, left, right. He stood at the door for a moment, then stalked back towards the platform.

"Skids and Mudflap...two of our...less.. professional 'Bots" Sergeant Epps informed the group. "They're harmless really." He tried to sound convincing as a few 'What the hell just happened' faces stood amongst the group.

'I'm going to like it here' Grace thought to herself. 'I'm going to like it a lot'.

They began to descend from the platform. The Autobots stood still as the airmen- and woman, filed past their huge feet. Amongst excited chatter between the boys, Grace tailed at the end of the group, taking one last look back at the giant forms before going off to be escorted to her accomodation for the night. Blue lights faded as the 'Bots transformed.

...'Amazing'.


End file.
